Thursday, 19 February 2009

SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE OF GAZA

All January the carnage, the war crimes were going on, a nightmare visited on innocent Gaza that I and I suppose hundreds of thousands of people had silently assumed was beyond even the ruthlessness of Israel, with its armaments stronger than most large nations. I did what people did over the world, city after city, joined protests, wrote, organised, gave, phoned, wrote, complained, emailed, despaired, shouted, again phoned,

marched, emailed....

Our politicians with few exceptions, Poisoned by Cowardice, as Blake would have said, slept their well calculated Sleep throughout, Hamas was blamed by Insane Israel for killing its own children, and our Sleepers made mooing agreement with their Snores.

But This was one long war crime, and falls within the definition of genocide. Not only bombing UN schools... there were atrocities from first to last - how could there fail to be with this cowardly bombardment, even if attacking the UN were the only atrocities the Sleepers twitched at, while as ever Insane Paranoid Israel thundered on about Hamas killing its own and human shields.

What can come out of such wrong? That people are more aware? that Amnesty has called for the UK to impose an arms embargo on 'all sides', that Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions may be getting through to Trade Unions and even some companies, as well as what I think in the long run is very important, that concerned Jews with influence everywhere stand up and divorce themselves from Israel as it is now, as for that matter should anyone with influence. And us. Hope so. Go on, take courage, because of the courage of these incredibly enduring incredibly maligned and wronged people.

PS No, Naturally, I am not referring to war crime master Bush who must take much of the blame for this BBC christened 'conflict'. Nor even, to his drear Dr Strangelove, last seen exiting rear in black shiny leather gloves, in a wheelchair, decanted into an enormous limousine....

Buttell me, last, who gets the gongs in Insane Israel meanwhile for such a heroic 'war'? Brave pilots, getting out of your unarmed drones, tossing back your virtual goggles, goodness you're back from the blood and smoke without a blood smear.

And listen, now you earned your university place, to study what...yes indeed, munitions design and reseach, solutions developement, and what is more again, to the sound of Western political Snores gentle against the popping of champagne toasts in the offices of BAe and Ratheon etc, so you will try to continue, if the world's people don't stop you, to kill human flesh to defend your own insanity. God, what a shambles you have made of your country,in making one of the Palestinians and theirs. And what a prostitution, even worse, of the cruel deaths of all those millions of European Jews. Among them, I remember, my husband's grandparents and all that generation and their descendents, his lost cousins. And I do not forget also what your long spoliation of Jewish culture and religion by means of your bitter and selfish arrogance has done to disrespect the work of the finest and most moral thinkers and artists of the Jewish tradition.

the gift

Marrakesh doorway

And see www.judithkazantzis.com

In doddery old age I now live among the South Downs, after twenty years spent sprinting between London and Elsewhere, above all Key West, at the very bottom of the USA. So I know parts of the US well. A beautiful country, a fantastic people whose values, whose rulers have gone wrong, like us indulging in military revenges for violence we have helped to bring on our own pointy heads. This is not to say I don't abhore religious fanaticism with all its disasters- And my work? A poet, I've also written short stories and a novel (partly about sexual politics, partly about a truelife genocidal war in Central America), an artist too, to get some peace.. I started this blog in 2007, not knowing what to say, and I see now write this when specially cynical or in despair at our hypocrisies, or on the contrary specially want to add a poem or a picture or maybe just a bird or butterfly I've seen around the garden or the fields or the Downs. Please feel free to email me either to add comment, or if you want to find out more about my work - you can see some examples of my prints and acrylics and photos here and also on my website pages. judith@judithkazantzis.com)